The Rick Schwartz Domain and Traffic Blog RicksBlog.com...Home of the "Domain King"

I am a failure and proud of it!

In a little over 6 months this is only my 39th Blog post. With the exception of a few posts, most are meant to be read a chapter at a time. There is a common thread of trying to explain how domain names fit into the Internet equation. The other common thread is to be motivating and look at things through different viewpoints. In over 35 years in the business world I am under no illusions and either should you. There is a thin line between success and failure. So many just give up on the brink of success, while others waste time on the impossible and get nowhere. Knowing the difference is everything.

I fail more than just about anyone that is going to read this. I fail every single day of my life. Sometimes I fail many times in one day. I actually look forward to failure. Reason being that FAILURE is a stepping stone to SUCCESS. Babe Ruth struck out more than any other baseball player of his era. No failure worse in baseball than striking out. Unless you hit into a double or triple play. But he also hit more home runs than anybody of his era. Had he been afraid to strike out, NOBODY would have ever even heard of Babe Ruth.

Today everything is based on success. If you are into boxing, they promote and revere the undefeated. However the greatest boxers all time lost many times. Joe Lewis, Joe Frazier, George Forman, Muhammad Ali. There are no undefeated boxers of today that could match those "Losers" in their prime.

That gets back to me being a PROUD failure. As I stated above I actually look forward to failure. But I view failure as a success as long as you learned something from that failure. Something that you can apply and create a success. If you work for corporate America you are TERRIFIED of failure. Failure may mean your paycheck. Failure is not tolerated so those in Corp America are paralyzed. Scared to fail they are then also scared to succeed. It is a vicious circle.

I hope tomorrow I fail a dozen times. If I did that tomorrow working for Corp America  they would toss my ass out quicker than I can finish this post. In my failures I just want 1 or 2 successes a day. That adds up to hundreds of successes a year. One success can wipe out a year of failures.

So why others want to remain undefeated.....I don't care what my record is as long as there are a lot of wins along the way. Lots of accomplishments. Success is IMPOSSIBLE without failure. Absolutely impossible. So those that are scared to fail also are scared to succeed. Don't EVER be afraid of failure. Don't ever pay attention when others laugh at your failure. They are the ones that have failed, not you! Ignore the naysayers. They sit on the sidelines, do nothing and can't wait for you to fail. Fail....and be PROUD to fail. Use their laughter as fuel to succeed. That is what pisses them off the most. YOUR success!

Have a GREAT day!
Rick Schwartz

Team of domainers score a touchdown!!

Team of domainers score a touchdown after the Dallas Cowboys football team fumbles the domain.

 

I was in the back of the room at TRAFFIC EAST when the phone bid came in and the Dallas Cowboys bought cowboys.com for $275,000. The room erupted in applause. The celebration was short lived.

 

In a stunning development yesterday the "Attorney" for the Dallas Football team said days later that he thought the price was $275 and not $275,000. That just does not pass the laugh test. I could not take my family to the Dallas Cowboys football game for $275. The cost to BID was more than $275. I am sure there is more here than what meets the eye. Time tells all.

 

As domainers learned about this yesterday,,,,,disbelief was the keyword followed by laughter as the story circulated through the entire industry and then the news media.

 

Discussions began and then Eric Rice who has been interested in the domain and associated business for the past 6 months made a post on my private chatboard shortly after noon and began the process of putting a group together in just HOURS to buy this spectacular domain name. By 7:30PM it was ours and the new team of 20 investors had won the prize. The folks involved may or may not identify themselves. I just did with a stake of a little more than 11%.

 

The talent the domainers have will make Cowboys.com a premiere site on the net. An opportunity thrust into our laps and being the entrepreneurs we are, we jumped on it. The rest is history and it will be written about for years to come. The site comes with the trademark for cowboys.com which has been a western wear site for the last 10 years.

 

Congrats to this new team of investors. They saw opportunity and seized it. The American dream is alive and well and this will go down as one of the worst decisions in corporate history.

The blogs are going wild with this story. Bill Hartzer of Dallas who was at the auction has loads of info as do many other blogs like Sahar's.

 

Have a GREAT day!
Rick Schwartz

The Dilemma of a Domain Owner

My Dilemma may be your dilemma.......

 

I own Candy.com. I spend no time on the Candy.com project. I am distracted. However even with those realities Candy.com earns enough to place it in the upper 5%-10% of all candy stores. And when we talk about customers walking in to your store, candy.com places in the highest category of candy stores anywhere. My problem is I have no focus. I have too many distractions. Do I want to make more with Candy.com and invest my time here or do I move on to Property.com?

 

Now Property.com has its' own story. I spend no time on the Property.com project. I am distracted. However even with those realities Property.com gets more daily customers than dozens or maybe hundreds of real estate offices combined. In addition with me being distracted and spending no time developing or taking care of it, Property.com still manages to produce an income that most real estate agents don't make. My problem is I have no focus. I have too many distractions. Do I want to make more with Candy.com and invest my time here or do I move on to Property.com but yet others believe I should develop Widgets.com?

 

Now Widgets.com has another story. Purchased a decade ago to explain the most generic of generic domain names and the power they have and why something like Widgets.com would say something to the world and have value. I spend no time on the widgets.com project. I am distracted. However even with those realities evolution has stepped in and as you might imagine Widgets.com is one of my fastest growing domain names. My problem is I have no focus. I have too many distractions. Do I want to make more with Widgets.com and invest my time here or do I move on to Property.com or Candy.com or listen to others that believe I should develop Porno.com?

 

Now Porno.com is another interesting story. I spend no time on the Porno.com.com project. I am distracted. However even with those realities Porno.com earns enough with PPC to place it in the upper ranks of all adult sites that make 7 figures annually in profit. My problem is I have no focus. I have too many distractions. Do I want to make more with Porno.com and invest my time here or do I move on to Property.com or Candy.com or Widgets or listen to others that believe I should develop TradeShows.com?

 

Now I can go on and on all day today and all day tomorrow and then some with similar circumstances just different domain names each with a story of success waiting for my time and attention. I have a load of choices how to invest and spend and enjoy MY TIME. I choose to put my energy in explaining the power and the value of domain names and why they will play such an important part in everyone's futures. The challenge presented and the historical significance are just things that I can't seem to ignore. How do you ignore an opportunity that truly shadows the gold rush? How do you ignore something that is changing the way we sell things? Market things? Listen to things? View things? Learn things? Interact with each other? The list goes on and on and on. When HISTORY writes about this period it will be clear. Until then, look at all this through an historical eye to the past and you will see the vision I have of the future. The vision that has so far unfolded like numbered milestones on a highway.

 

I have no focus. I have too many distractions. But I would not have it any other way. Imagine the possibilities and opportunities. Never have so many had a chance at so much.

 

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz